Vietnamese-Australian fighter Martin Nguyễn hunts triple crown

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese-Australian mixed martial arts fighter Martin Nguyễn, 29, aims to make history by becoming a three-division world champion at the One Championship: Reign of Kings.

His quest begins in Manila, the Phillipines today when he faces local fighter Kevin Belingon for the bantamweight title.

Nguyễn, has 11 wins and two losses, while Belingon has 18 wins and five losses.

Nguyễn, a member of Sydney’s KMA Top Team, already holds featherweight and lightweight titles.

Nguyễn claimed the featherweight belt with a stoppage over previously undefeated Marat Gafurov of Russia.

Nguyễn straight away made the move to lightweight and claimed the title with a second-round knock-out over Filipino Eduard Folayang.

In his following fight he attempted the trifecta of belts but came up short in a split-points decision loss to Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes before returning back to featherweight to defend successfully against Christian Lee. — VNS